CQU: A Mentor's Perspective

Staying on track

2005-08-08T10:56:00.000+10:00

Look I was going to add another revelation about my way of staying on track, but instead I would rather talk to you about using or finding your own techniques to stay focused at Uni. Sometimes, it is something someone says to you. Or sometimes it is comparing yourself to someone who has not been fortunate enough to get to Uni. Sometimes, like me, you try to focus on the potential for many career possibilities once you have graduated.
Whatever you use for boosting your enthusiam make sure you always use it. Do not take for granted that you will be 'fine'. You could meet the love of your life and forget about the organisation of study for the next few months. This three year degree will set you all up for the rest of your life. And the harder you work, the easier it becomes....or should I say it becomes a little easier. There is no way of avoiding lots of work.
And remember ....everybody goes through the UNi blues, so try to think about staying ahead of the pack too.
All the best as the term reaches the half way mark.
Jim

2005-03-14T19:53:00.000+10:00

It seems the prizes were too easy to get for our mintie group!!!! Another happy customer!

2005-03-14T19:51:00.000+10:00

Somebody is happy with the prize they won!

2005-03-14T19:49:00.000+10:00

Sue, our Mentor for mentors! Photo taken at the end of O-week, that is why the pic is fuzzy.......reflecting Sue's mind at the time.

2005-03-14T19:47:00.000+10:00

your first week at UNI

2005-03-14T19:36:00.000+10:00

Maxxy, with lessons on how to make a green beard look sexy!

2005-03-14T19:34:00.000+10:00

The grand Auction ....and didn't we clean up!!!!

2005-03-14T19:33:00.000+10:00

My favourite folk!...the ladies from the Toastmaster's club

2005-03-14T19:31:00.000+10:00

Coffee ....clearly a student's best friend.

2005-03-14T19:29:00.000+10:00

the first day of O-week!!! In wander the lambs to the slau.........

2005-02-27T10:32:00.000+10:00

Mentor Training day. Just thought I would let you see how much effort we dedicated mentors go through to make your introduction to University life easier. Do you notice the double Halo around Simon Cuthbert's head!!???? The Halo often follows him around the campus, what an Angel our Simmy is!!!!!

2005-02-25T22:49:00.000+10:00

Although computer skills are not essential to successful tertiary study they have become essential to rapid knowledge access and assignment presentaion.

2005-01-30T19:27:00.000+10:00

CQU- Click on Central Queensland University for their Homepage

2005-01-30T19:12:00.000+10:00

It is not what you study, its how you study!

Let's begin!

2005-01-30T13:17:00.000+10:00

Everything I talk with you about studying has worked very successfully for ME. That does not mean it will work as successfully for YOU. However, I have learned that by discovering what DOES NOT work for you helps you to understand what DOES work for you!! Keep an open mind and a critical mind and you will find what suits you best.
This is probably the single greatest learning session I have ever had. The following website taught me to think in a more clever and focussed manor. Let me remind you that Bjork's techniques are all evidence-based research from many different psychologists and educationalists. Much of the research is based on successful university students.
Have a look at this fantastic website called Bjork's Seven Study Techniques. Just click on that orange highlighted link to find the most helpful condensed information on how to be a better learner. Remember, if you are a successful student then you may not need any of this advice or the need to read this link web site. But if you are like me and wanted to improve your marks a couple of grades then you should check out this web site first. Read the entire site before returning to this webpage.
Everthing in that website is backed by academic research and years of successful outcomes.

An Introduction to Art of Study: Being Organised is being Intelligent

2005-01-27T17:22:00.000+10:00

In 2003 I was fortunate enough to go through the Central Queensland University (CQU) STEPS program. The STEPS program is essentially a tertiary preparation program, preparing the mature student for the academic expectations at a tertiary level. This includes essay writing skills, public speaking, mathematics, computer skills and so fourth. In addition, the STEPS program also included a portion of self awareness that has been invaluable to me. In a nutshell STEPS introduced an 'attitude' to my study that I had not had before. One of the most important attitude changes I adopted is the theme that will run through this journal site. This running theme is that of ORGANISATION.

There are many examples of organised students doing very well at university study, more importantly they do not get stressed out. Similarly, there many examples of very intelligent students who do very poorly at undergraduate level of study. The reason for this is that the undergraduate degree does not produce nobel prize winners, however it does produce students who are highly organized and proven capable of handling medium-term projects for a three month period (the length of the average semester).
Your job as undergraduate students is to prove to your lecturers that you understand the material presented to you and this is achieved almost entirely by; (1) produce essays that clearly and concisely show your lecturer that you can DESCRIBE the knowledge you have learned; (2) show your examiners that you can memorize and eventually retrieve your memorized knowledge in a exam setting. If you do this two things well you will be considered an outstanding student, therefore I will always be describing to you ways to improve this two things. Alot of what I will share with you is not neccessarily about nursing itself. I will focus on the art of learning. You could be studying any old subject and this information would be valuable to you, so please apply this knowledge to anything in life you have to learn.
Ok.......with that introduction finished let me remind you that in order for this to work you must have fun! It is simply easier to study if you can some how make it fun. I will talk about how to make three-month terms of hard study into fun a little later on, but for now I want you to know that study actually works better if you have some sort of enjoyment out of it so we will find ways to make it fun. Still cannot avoid the hard work but fun bits can be squeezed into the semester to balance the bland parts.
I hope this journal of my own experiences are of some help to you. You can customise your study to your own needs and habits. I just hope the journal offers a few new ideas and insights that you previously did not have regarding your undergraduate degree.
Cheers